1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operating mode switching method for an electronic device, and more particularly, to an operating mode switching method capable of avoiding unintentionally switching from an initial operating mode into an environmental operating mode when entering an environment, and capable of automatically switching from the environmental operating mode back to the initial operating mode when leaving the environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Enormous developments in computer networks enable data and information to spread out rapidly, and advanced technology and knowledge to be communicated efficiently. The development of wireless networks in recent years further enables users to access network resources anytime and anywhere to make information technology more integrated with people's lives and work.
For example, in a near field communication (NFC) application (i.e. a proximity-based wireless communication scenario), when a user enters an environment (e.g. a meeting room or a bedroom), the user can pass a electronic device (e.g. a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, etc.) with an NFC reader near an NFC tag device, such that the electronic device switches to an environmental operating mode (e.g. a mute mode or a sleep mode) as indicated by the NFC tag device. Then, when the user leaves the environment, the user can pass the electronic device near the NFC tag device again, such that the electronic device can switch back to an initial operating mode.
However, in the above proximity-based wireless communication scenario, since the user has to intentionally pass the electronic device near the NFC tag device to switch the operating mode of the electronic device, the user often remembers to pass the electronic device near the NFC tag device to switch the electronic device into the environmental operating mode when entering the environment, but forgets to pass the electronic device near the NFC tag device again to switch the electronic device back to the initial operating mode when leaving the environment. Therefore, the electronic device stays in the environment operating mode after leaving the environment, which causes issues (e.g. missed call).
For another example, in Bluetooth application (i.e. a short-ranged wireless communication scenario), when a user enters an environment, the electronic device receives signals from a Bluetooth host device and switches to an environmental operating mode accordingly. Then, when the user leaves the environment, the electronic device stops receiving the signals from the Bluetooth host device and switches back to an initial operating mode accordingly.
However, in the above short-ranged wireless communication scenario, the electronic device automatically switches the operating mode according to whether to receive the signals from the Bluetooth host device, but the user may not really intent to switch to the electronic device to the environmental operating mode (e.g. the user may enter the environment for other purposes), which causes issues.
As can be seen from the above, the electronic device stays in the environment operating mode after leaving the environment in the proximity-based wireless communication scenario, while unintentionally switching to the environment operating mode when entering the environment in the short-ranged wireless communication scenario. Thus, there is a need to improve over the prior art.